Lithuanian-Soviet War

The Lithuanian-Soviet War (December 1918-August 1919) was fought between the newly independent Lithuania and the Russian SFSR in the aftermath of World War I. Following the withdrawal of the Imperial German Army from the Baltics at the end of World War I, the Bolsheviks launched a major westward offensive to conquer the German puppet states established following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and create new Soviet republics. By the end of January 1919, the Soviets took control of two-thirds of Lithuanian territory, but the Soviet advance was stopped by Lithuanian and German volunteers in February 1919. From April 1919, the war went parallel with the Polish-Soviet War; the German Reichswehr supported the Lithuanian nationalists, the Soviets supported the Lithuanian communists, and the Polish Army fought with them all. In mid-May 1919, the Lithuanian army - commanded by Silvestras Zukauskas - began an offensive against the Soviets in northeastern Lithuania. By mid-June the Lithuanians reached the Latvian border and cornered the Soviets among lakes and hills near Zarasai, where the Soviets held out until mid-August 1919. The Soviets and Lithuanians maintained their fronts until the Battle of Daugavpils in January 1920, and a Soviet-Lithuanian peace treaty was signed on 12 July 1920, with Soviet Russia recognizing an independent Lithuania.